Psycho
by Adventure-Seeking-Juliet
Summary: Belle finally overcomes the effects of her confinement in the psych ward, and with the help of some other captives, escapes. However, they find themselves becoming desperate souls...who will do anything to avoid being captured. Even kill. Lots of Rumbelle
1. Part One: Watching the Wheel

**Psycho**

Written by: Adventure-Seeking-Juliet

When: Listening to Florence + the Machine

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, blah blah blah, yada yada yada, you know the drill.

A/N Belle finally overcomes the effects of her confinement in the psych ward, and with the help of some other captives, escapes. However, they find themselves becoming desperate souls...who will do anything to avoid being captured. Even kill. Lots of Rumbelle! So, this is the third installment in the Once Upon a Time Series I've started (it is preceded by _Chipping Cups_ and_ My Heroine_.) However, it CAN stand alone. If you read, please review! Also, if you're interested, I have written another OUAT fic,_ Spinning Gold._ Now, please enjoy~

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><p><em>Part One~ Watching the Wheel~ Belle<em>

Sometimes I felt as though I was watching a wheel spin, and the more it spun, the more I could remember.

But I wasn't the one spinning; it was someone else. He was dark, manevolent, but he never harmed me.

I wasn't afraid of him, if anything, I cared for him, despite the evil.

I think it was love...maybe. I'm not really sure, because I cannot remember what it feels like to be loved.

All I knew was that I was locked away because I was crazy. I had to take medicine, even in my confinement, to _fix_ me. Or, at least, that was what the nurse said.

It was really hard to recall things when they gave me "my medicine." Once, every other day, a man and a woman would come into my room. The woman injected me, and the man would hold me down so I couldn't struggle.

No matter how much I fought, I couldn't stop them. I just wasn't strong enough. But I never gave up. If they were always going to win, they deserved a few scars.

On the days they weren't injecting me, they would place pills in my cell, with my food.

I hated the pills even more than the injections- they made me forget everything. The injections just made me docile.

If I was ever going to escape, I'd have to find a way around the pills.

Of course, when I tried to just not take them, the man and the woman would stuff them down my throat.

It took me about two months before I learned a way to keep my memory up.

I started by chipping all of the cups they brought with my food. I don't really remember why- all of the medications took my ability to remember away,

But eventually, I could recall snippets, just phrases and words.

"_All you'll have is an empty heart and a chipped cup,_" was the first.

Then,"_ I watch the wheel to help me forget..._" and others followed. Sometimes, they were things I had said, but other times it would be something said by someone else.

It was when the man and the woman came to inject me that I recalled the two things that finally convinced me to leave.

They were yelling at me, saying I was schizophrenic. The woman never even called me by name. She called me schizo.

As I bit down on her arm, the phrase," _True love's kiss can break any curse,_" flew to my mind.

I hadn't said it- someone cruel had. Not my evil one, but someone heartless.

_The Queen._

As they injected me, one more phrase entered my head," _Do the brave thing and bravery will follow."_

So, I did.

The next day, I woke up to my usual breakfast of soggy eggs, a cold biscuit, two pills, and a cup of water.

Figuring out how to get past this wasn't as hard as I had thought it would be.

I placed the pills under my tongue. They dissolved a bit, but not enough. The taste was terrible.

Then, after pretending to gulp down my water, I bit into my biscuit. Using my tongue, I moved the pills onto it.

I was quick, but I was shaking.

After placing them there, I ate my breakfast as usual. When I was done, I snatched the pills back and tucked them into a small "pocket" I had created in my white hospital scrubs.

Then I inspected my tray for anything I could use for a weapon. Sadly, the plastic fork wouldn't go very far.

When I found nothing, my worry threatened to overwhelm me, until I manged to remember my secret pocket.

I was lucky- they only wash our scrubs if they have to. So, I had hidden a shard of a cup I had broken long ago in my pocket.

It was the only weapon I had.

I spent my day resting and eating as much as I could, just to get my strength up.

I would act early the next morning, at the time of the injection.

My nerves made it impossible to sleep. Without the pills, more and more was coming back to me. My name was- is Belle. The man who spun the wheel was Rumpelstiltskin.

He pushed me away. He was not going to save me...I would have to save myself.

I was never very sure of the time since there were no clocks in my cell, but I know I fell asleep early in the morning. My dreams were uneasy; visions of a terrible world where the Evil Queen ruled everything flitted through my brain.

I only awoke when the door to my cell was opened by the nurse and her henchman later in the day. I panicked, unsure of my plan.

So, I stayed perfectly still on my "bed" next to the window. I was waiting for them to come to me.

They called out as they entered, trying to wake me, but I did not respond.

By the time the nurse was within reach, I was jumping out of my skin with fear. My adrenaline was kicking in, and my body was becoming impatient for action.

I tried to hold out to the last possible minute, keeping one eye slightly open. I had my shard clenched in my fist. I only hoped it was enough.

The woman drew her arm back, pulling the liquid into the syringe- then I jumped. I quickly slipped off of my bed, my feet hitting the ground gently, then before I could change my mind, I grabbed the woman by her wrist so she couldn't inject me.

I had to act fast. She was stronger than me, and behind her, the man was quickly moving in on me.

I took the shard and jabbed upward, straight for her neck. I was never one for physical violence, but I have to admit I felt a barely restrained joy at making one of my captors suffer.

It punctured her throat, and she made a terrible gagging noise, blood pouring from her neck.

I pulled the syringe from her hand just as she began to fall toward the ground.

The man would be a bigger problem. Without my shard, I had no weapon.

Except for the syringe.

I stared up at him. He was big, but slow.

I didn't know where to aim the needle- but I knew it had to be somewhere that would be painful. I jumped- slamming the end of it into his eye, just as his huge arms clenched around me.

I struggled not to scream as he fell, taking me with him. The force of gravity pulling us backward only served to shove the needle further into his eye.

He screamed, his hands left me to cover his face, and I took the chance to swipe the room key off his belt, and the gun.

I ran to the door, excitement and fear leading me. It took me two swipes of the card to get it to open, and by that time, the woman was up and moving again.

But I merely grinned and slammed the door as I hard as I could behind me. It could only open from the outside.

I was almost free.

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><p>AN Sorry for violence, but it was needed, I'm afraid. It can't be easy to escape a psych ward. Please leave a nice review. :)


	2. Part Two: Being the Hero

**Psycho**

Written by: Adventure-Seeking-Juliet

When: Listening to Florence + the Machine!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Once Upon a Time belongs to ABC...for now.

A/N Much thanks to _NorthernLights21, Emoen_, and _Child of Asgard_ for their wonderful reviews! :D Also, I'd like to thank my good friend, Ginny, for helping me a tad bit with some things and for being supportive in her own weird way. The other characters introduced in this chapter may or may not actually end up being in the show. If you have a problem with that, please try not to yell at me for using non-canon characters. I KNOW they are not canon. Now, please enjoy. ( By the way, if you can guess the Star Wars reference in this chapter, I'll tell you something about the plot of this story.) ^_^

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><p><em>Part Two~ Being the Hero~ Belle<em>

I was almost free.

I was so close to escaping, I could taste the freedom, but I was afraid it would make me reckless. I needed to keep my head, or I'd never make it out.

The hall outside my cell was white, almost blindingly so. It took me a few blinks before I became used to the bright florescent lighting. To my luck, there was no one else in the hall.

It was empty and silent.

I padded down the hall, trying to be as quiet as I could. I had no idea where I was going, or if anyone else would be down here. I didn't want to take my chances.

I counted five other cell doors on my way. At first, I didn't think there were more people trapped like I had been. I was in too much of a hurry to check inside the rooms. I assumed they were empty.

Then, as I passed the third door down from my own, a pair of wild eyes peered through the tiny window.

I jumped, fear gripping me at first. The eyes were very odd, one was blue, but the other was green. They were very red too, like the person had been crying.

I kept walking, determined not to be distracted by the eyes. I needed to focus on getting myself out, before someone discovered what I had done.

But, the eyes followed me as I walked. They looked so hopeful. Without me to free the person, I was afraid they would be trapped forever.

I turned mid-step and ran back to the door, my fingers stumbling with the room key I had swiped from the man. I only hoped it worked for all the doors.

When the door lock clicked out of place, I felt a grin spread across my face. I had always wanted to be a hero, and now I was getting my chance. I was rescuing prisoners...and I had saved myself. I was more than just some silly damsel in distress.

I pulled the door open, preparing to have to coax the person out, but he stepped immediately into the hall and shut the door behind himself.

He was several inches taller than me, with graying hair that stuck up all over his head, almost like spikes.

He grinned at me, showing yellow teeth," 'Ello there. I wondered when you would _finally _free us."

I blinked up at him. He was the first person who had ever spoken to me in this place, besides the cruel nurse and her man.

" _You knew I would free you?_" My voice sounded kind of odd, it had been a long time since I had spoken aloud.

" No, I knew you were going to free _us_, do try to keep up, love."

"Us? What're you talking about? Who are you?" I asked, flustered.

" I do not know my name in this terrible place...but you may know me as Hatter." He winked at me with his green eye.

I ignored the wink," Hatter? Like...the mad one?"

"Yes," he replied," That would be the one. Now you might want to get to work releasing the others, we don't have all day."

I just gaped up at him. I had never met the Mad Hatter in the other world, but I had heard enough. How had _he_ ended up the queen's prisoner?

I had just gotten the door key started in the second door, when a booming voice yelled," What the HELL is going on here?"

I froze. At the end of the hall was a woman...she was dressed in a nursing outfit, but I had never seen her before.

She started to run at us, pulling a stun gun out as she did so. Before I could react, Hatter had snatched the gun out of my hand.

When he pulled the trigger, a crack like that of thunder sounded. The woman crumpled to the ground, but I was sure someone had heard us now.

"Hurry up!" He snapped," They probably heard that."

I glared at him, but continued to slide the door card through the second door. When it opened, a young girl stepped out.

She had very long red hair, that was full of knots and dirt, and she looked even younger than me.

When she saw me, her blue eyes widened and she retreated back inside the cell.

Behind me, Hatter groaned in annoyance," At this rate, we'll be stuck in here forever."

" Why don't you let them out then, if you're so worried about it?" I demanded, throwing the card at him.

He started off, but not before I snagged the gun from his hand.

" You can't even hold that correctly, give it back!" He was yelling loudly now.

I just stared at him. He truly was a mad man, one minute he's all smiles and winks and the next he's yelling and shooting guns.

" No. Let them out."

I could tell he wanted to argue, but we had no time. He scuttled off to the next door, scowling.

I rolled my eyes and walked into the red-headed girl's room. She was huddled up in the corner, with her hair hiding her face.

I crouched down, so that I was at eye level with her, and reached out a hand. Even though I touched her shoulder gently, she jumped up, fear in her eyes.

"It's alright. I'm Belle, I'm here to rescue you."

She shook her head.

" It's okay, I won't hurt you."

I reached my hand out again, and when she didn't jump, I pulled her to her feet.

By this time, Hatter was already at the door, along with two other men and a small woman.

"We don't have all day, princess." I was unaware if he was addressing me or the girl, so I merely nodded.

The girl looked weary of all the people, especially Hatter, but she reluctantly followed me out.

" Now, how do we get out of this maze?" one of the other men asked.

I was about to reply, when my eyes caught sight of his missing hand.

It seemed all of the prisoners were a bit strange.

"There has to be an exit door down here," Hatter said, pacing around.

He and the other man both began to search, frantically, but the girls and the third man just stood there, looking miserable and confused.

I was busy looking for anything we might need to take with us. I went over to the desk on the far side of the room, and to my excitement, there was a mini-fridge beneath it.

I had pulled out a pack of water and a handful of candy before Hatter found the basement door.

The other door, which we had determined was the entrance from the hospital was being forced open by a mob of men and women in different colored scrubs. We were almost too late.

I snatched the woman's jacket off the back of the desk chair, and after hastily wrapping the food up, I bolted to the door.

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><p>AN Sorry for any mistakes. So, can you guess the reference? Does anyone have any idea who the other escapees are? Let me know in a review.:)


	3. Part Three: Spinning the Dream

**Psycho**

Written by: Adventure-Seeking-Juliet

When: After several failed attempts to escape the choke-hold of my Rumbelle fascination.

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time...or Rumbelle. :(

A/N Much thanks to _Emoen, Condiotti, DragonRose4,_ and _NorthernLights25_ for your wonderful reviews! I hope you all continue to enjoy this story. Once again, I'd like to thank my friend Ginny for giving me _soo_ much positive encouragement. So, I'm sorry for the slow updates...I have been working on my own original story the past few days. Please read and review. :)

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><p><em>Part Three~ Spinning the Dream~ Rumpelstiltskin<em>

I was sitting at my wheel, spinning.

As the wheel turned faster and faster, I felt my pain ease. I felt my memories vanish.

A smile spread across my face, I truly loved my dreams when they were like this. Though, these happy dreams were very rare...usually they were filled with visions of Belle.

Not that a dream of Belle should be considered bad, in any event, some of my dreams featuring her were _wonderful. _

Those dreams were my favorite, when I would sit and spin at my wheel, but Belle would be there. The two of us would talk, and she would watch me spin.

However, recently almost all of my dreams concerning Belle had become fevered, uncontrolled. She would be screaming for me to help her, to save her, but I was trapped at my wheel.

And somewhere in the background, Regina would be cackling.

Only once had I had a dream of Belle that had been different than those. She had come to watch me spin, but something was different.

She was different. I was different.

I had kissed Belle in that dream. I had thought that maybe it was real.

It hadn't been.

But still, something she had said... near the end of that _dream_ had been haunting my thoughts ever since.

"_I am trapped. In the curse. In Storybrooke. Find me."_

She had disappeared before I could reply, and then I had woken up.

Alone, in Storybrooke.

Now, my dreams had become my refuge. I kept waiting for her to return again...but so far my dreams had only been thinly disguised nightmares.

But this time, it was different. I could feel it. There was a magic in this dream I had not felt in the others.

I spun faster...and faster, until the wheel was hot to the touch.

Then, there was a light. It separated and multiplied, until rainbow tinted fragments were bouncing around the room, and then, there she was.

Belle.

At first, I almost didn't recognize her under all of the dirt. She was dressed in scrubs, and her hair was knotted and messy.

It was the most beautiful thing I had seen in a long time.

"Belle...?"

As soon as I spoke, she changed. The scrubs were gone, replaced by her blue dress., her hair was fixed, and there wasn't a speck of dirt in sight.

She glanced up at me, seemingly confused.

"Where am I?" She asked, staring up at the high ceiling in wonder.

For a moment, I was worried she had forgotten, so I continued to spin, trying to make the dream more complete.

Finally, she turned toward me, recognition glowing in her eyes," You found me!"

I stood, abandoning my wheel, and nodded.

There was a moment of silence.

"I'm free!" She said, at last, moving toward me," I set myself free!"

She folded herself into my arms, embracing me with a warmth that made my fingers and toes curl in remembrance.

"This is just a dream," I murmured, hoping she understood that wherever she was in Storybrooke, she wasn't home yet," You are not free."

Belle peered up at me," As long as I am with you, I am free."

I could hold back no longer, I touched her lips with my own.

At first, she seemed surprised, but then she molded herself against me, her hands tangling in my hair. I let one of my hands fall to the small of her back, and deepened the kiss.

I had thought I had gone too far, but Belle kissed me back with a vengeance.

I felt fire in my veins, and I knew I had to stop. We didn't have much time, and I needed to know this was real.

I needed to know she was real, somewhere other than my dreams.

"Belle," my voice came out in a ragged whisper," Where are you?"

She smiled up at me," I am with you, Rumpelstiltskin."

She slid her fingers over my shoulders, her nails lightly teasing my skin, and then pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek.

I shuddered, despite myself," No...where are you in Storybrooke?"

She grinned at me," Free!"

I felt the dream vanish in wispy tendrils of color. I awoke, once again alone, my lips still tingling from Belle's kiss.

Where was she?

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><p><em>~Belle~<em>

I awoke from my dream gasping for breath. I had been back at the manor, with Rumpelstiltskin.

I blush tinted my cheeks as I thought about the kiss we had shared in the dream. It had felt so real...

I touched my fingers to my lips, trying to find any physical proof that my dream had been real, but I found none.

" Looky here," Hatter drawled, from his spot against an old oak tree," Our very own _beauty_ is finally awake."

I scowled and stood, brushing my scrubs free of the pine needles and excess dirt.

It did little to clean my apparel.

There was a quiet chuckle from Hatter's left, " Aye, that she is, Hatter. Perhaps now we can discuss how we plan to garner help from her_ beast_?"

"What are you talking about?" I snapped, glaring at the two men. After our escape, there had been little time to get to know each other.

The six of us had run for as long as our exhausted limbs could carry us, then when we were sure we were far enough into the forest, we had settled for a few hours to eat some of the candy and water I had swiped from the nurse.

But once again, Hatter had pushed us on, until now we were so deep in the forest, I had no idea where we were.

I had learned that Hatter's_friend_ who was missing his hand, was called by Hook, and according to Hatter, the red-headed girl was Ariel.

So far, she had yet to speak a word. The other girl, who seemed to be about my age, had revealed her name to be Maleen.

And according to the constant jokes made by Hook and Hater, the short man was a former dwarf called Dopey.

The other three remained blissfully asleep while I spoke to Hatter and Hook.

" Well," Hook replied," you cannot expect us to remain safe out in the woods can ya'?"

" It won't be long before the lovely queen sends her dogs after us. We'll be needing protection." Hatter clarified, studying me with a malevolent gleam in his mis-matched eyes.

"Yes, I figured as much," I said," But I don't see what this has to do with me."

" Your name is _Belle_, is it not, _love_?"

I said nothing. I tried to stand taller, but the two men still towered over me.

" You are the only one who can control the beast," Hook explained," and he is the only one who can protect us from the queen."

" We don't need protecting from the queen!" I replied, trembling," We are free!"

"I know you are not stupid, Belle," Hatter shook his head sadly," Surely, you know that the queen will find us soon enough. We shall never be safe from her."

" No one can run from the queen," Hook continued, bitterly.

"But..what if," I ran through the possibilities in my head. I couldn't ask _him_ for help. I just couldn't. I had to do this myself.

" What if there was no more queen?" I stammered, sounding pathetically unsure of myself.

Hatter raised one eyebrow, his green eye crossing," Are you suggesting we_ kill_ the queen?"

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><p>AN So, it sounds like she's crazy, doesn't it? This wasn't the best chapter ever, and for that I am terribly sorry. Please review!


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